From AP via CBS 2 Chicago Reprinted in its entirety.
Blogs buzz of DePaul instructor's removal after dispute with Muslim students
Saturday May 14, 2005
By NICOLE ZIEGLER DIZON, Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO (AP) A longtime DePaul University instructor who argued with pro-Palestinian students at a campus activities fair last fall no longer works for the school. That much is not in dispute.
But why Thomas Klocek lost his job while other professors under fire for their statements, including the University of Colorado's Ward Churchill, kept theirs has created a buzz among conservative-leaning Internet blogs about free speech rights at campuses across the country.
``This case fits within a disturbing pattern we see nationally ... of punishing and disciplining professors who offend other individuals,'' said David French, president of the Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a group that takes on campus free speech cases.
DePaul officials maintain that it was Klocek's ``belligerent and menacing'' behavior not his views that got him in trouble.
Klocek, a part-time, untenured instructor who taught critical thinking, writing and research for 14 years, could still have his job if he agreed to apologize to the students for behavior that included throwing papers and shouting, said DePaul spokeswoman Denise Mattson.
``We emphatically reject that this is at all a matter of academic freedom,'' Mattson said. ``For DePaul, it was about his conduct, not his content.''
The dispute began Sept. 15 during a campus activity fair. Students for Justice in Palestine and United Muslims Moving Ahead were among about two dozen student groups with tables in the cafeteria of DePaul's downtown Chicago campus.
Klocek says he picked up a controversial flier from one of the groups and then argued with students over whether Palestinians truly exist, the Christian stake in the Middle East and other topics without mentioning that he was a teacher until he was asked.
The students say Klocek immediately identified himself as a professor, stayed when he was asked to leave and tried to use his position to press his points.
After about a half-hour, other groups called faculty advisers to intervene, and Klocek left flipping his thumb under his chin.
``He basically told me my religion was a religion of terror,'' said Ahmad Zahdan, a DePaul senior on the board of United Muslims Moving Ahead.
Salma Nassar, president of Students for Justice in Palestine, said the students were deeply offended by what they considered Klocek's demeaning comments.
The students, aided by a Chicago Islamic advocacy group, complained to the university, and Klocek ended up giving up his teaching assignment for that quarter with pay. He has not worked at the university since.
Klocek insists he is being punished for his opinions and is considering suing DePaul.
He and supporters cite a letter the dean of Klocek's department wrote to the DePaulia student newspaper soon after the incident that said, in part, ``no one should ever use the role of teacher to demean the ideas of others'' or to ``press erroneous assertions.''
``This had nothing to do with religion. It had nothing to do with ethnicity. My side is that it has everything to do with free speech,'' Klocek said.
Meanwhile, the dispute has taken on a life of its own in cyberspace.
John Ruberry, who writes the Marathon Pundit blog, started following the case after Klocek staged a news conference gagged in front of Chicago TV cameras.
Other bloggers also picked up on the story, and newspaper columnist Jay Ambrose described it as an example of political correctness run amok on college campuses.
``There seems to be kind of a double standard as far as free speech,'' Ruberry said, noting the case of Churchill, who came under fire for comparing some Sept. 11 victims to Nazis. Churchill has kept his job but is under investigation by the university for other issues.
Mattson said DePaul officials met with Klocek many times after the incident and offered to let him continue teaching if he apologized and submitted to classroom monitoring. He refused.
Klocek maintains that he was let go without a hearing and that the university's comments about his behavior have made it difficult to get other teaching work. He said does not regret his actions.
``A university is not bricks and mortar. It is great because of the intellectual reputation that they have,'' Klocek said. ``You cannot have a university that acts like a preschool.''
On the Web:
DePaul University: http://www.depaul.edu/
Marathon Pundit: http://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/
Students for Justice in Palestine: http://www.sjpdepaul.org
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